Fame and Fortune
by dancingandsingingintherain
Summary: Deep in an undercover mission the team is now a band. Although, how could they predict the rapid rising stardom? And how could Artemis and Wally not see the romance between them brewing?
1. Prologue

It was an undercover mission.

"You're on in five."

Batman said it would be nothing big.

"Outfit change after 'Mama's Broken Heart'."

Boy was he wrong.

"You're on in three, two, and go."

I was greeted by an almost blinding spotlight and many cheers.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked into the microphone like I was taught to. I was answered by screams.

"Are you sure?" More screams.

"Alright, here we go. _You've got the bullets, I've got the gun. I've got a hankerin' for gettin' into somethin'._"

The crowd goes wild when I start singing. I flipped my long blonde hair that was done in beach waves and gave a little wink and wave like M'gann told me to do.

"_I hit the bottle, you hit the gas. I heard your 65 can really haul some ass._"

I try to maneuver around the stage in the black three inch heels and a quater above the knee dress.

"_I'm feelin' frisky, you're feelin' good. I guess the whiskey is doin' what it should. I got the cigarettes, you got a lighter and when the sun goes down we'll start a little fire._"

The light dances off the sequins bodice of the black dress as I play a little bit with the tool bottom.

"_Ain't no use in tryin' to slow me down, 'cause you're rollin' with the fastest girl in town. Ain't you baby? I like 'em crazy._"

I still don't know how we got into this big mess, but this is one mess that I just have to love. Although, no one can know that.

"_My reputation follows me around. Just makes me want to give them more to talk about. Let's go to town for a little while. I'll be wearin' nothin' but a tatoo and a smile. Ain't no use in trying to slow me down, 'cause you're rollin' with the fastest girl in town. Ain't you baby? You're kinda crazy. Come one!_"

Wally came out from behind me and started playing the guitar riff. As we smiled at each other I danced a little next to him before singing once again.

"_I see the blue lights, we better run. Throw out the bottle and I'll hide the gun. If he pulls us over I'll turn on the charm. You'll be in the slammer and I'll be on his arm. Ain't no use in tryin' to slow me down, 'cause you're rollin' with the fastest girl in town. Ain't you baby? Well, I told you I was crazy. No, I ain't nobody's baby. Hey!_"

Wally emerged from behind again as we both finished the song.

"_He's got the bullets, he's got a gun. I got the hankerin' for gettin' into somethin'._"

The rest of the night went on just like that, the team and I jamming out in front of thousands of people. Although, the team isn't just called 'the team' anymore; now we are 'the band'.


	2. Blow Horns and Criminals

"Arty," I faintly heard as I started to wake up.

"Arrtyyy," I heard it a little louder.

"Arty Farty!" And now it was shouting at me.

"What?" I mumble back in annoyance, with sleep dripping heavily in my voice.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey," Wally sing-songed in my ear.

"Bacon clogs your arteries," I retort as I pull the covers over my head as he tries to pull them off my body.

"Turkey bacon then."

"That's no better than real bacon," I tell him my voice muffled by the comforter.

"You have to get up some time. We have another concert tonight and Batsy wants to talk to us," Wally said as we fought for the right of the comforter.

"We can talk to Bats later and we don't need to get ready for the concert until 6:30 in the evening," I tell him once I regained control of the sheets and turn away from him so I can try to fall back to sleep.

"Bats wants to talk to us in an hour and not in our pajamas this time," Wally told me. "You're not getting up are you?"

"Not willingly," I mumble back.

"Okay then. I tried to avoid this, but you give me no choice," Wally sighed.

"Wally quit talking to yourself," I mumble followed by an eerie silence. Turning around I asked, "Wally?" I saw nothing then, suddenly he blew a blow horn a half a foot from behind me. Screaming, I flailed my arms and legs not knowing what was going on and fell onto the floor.

"What the hell was that for?" I yelled while pushing myself up off the floor.

Laughing hysterically Wally simply replied, "You wouldn't get up when I told you to."

With anger, I picked up a pillow that fell on the floor and threw it at Wally's head. Off guard from laughing, he didn't notice the pillow until it came in contact with his head. A satisfied smile crept on my face as his mouth flew open in shock and then my smile dropped when his "o" mouth was replaced with a knowing smile.

"Wally don't you dare," I warned him knowing that he was going to throw a pillow at me.

"Don't dare to do what?" Wally asked all too innocently. _Damn empty threats,_ I thought as he threw a pillow at me.

"Oh, it's so on," I told him as I got ready to throw a pillow at him again.

"You just noticed." That was it. It was an all out pillow fight. Somehow in the middle of our pillow fight we ended up only inches from each other and I accidentally smacked his ass with the pillow in my hand.

"Oh, you're so going to get it," Wally said as he picked me up by the waist and swung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"WALLY! Put me down!" I yelled at him.

"Nope."

"Put me down. Put me down right now."

"I don't think that you're in a position to be giving orders right now," Wally told me. _Damn it, _I thought. _Why does he have to be right about that?_

"Thought so," Wally said smugly. We walked into the kitchen, well more like Wally did and I just hung on his back, only to be greeted by weird looks from the rest of the te-band.

"The demon child is finally awake," Wally dramatically told them. Fed up with Wally carrying me and being called a "demon child", I pinched the bottom of his butt. With a satisfying yelp, he let me go, thankfully feet first.

Getting up I said, "I am not a demon child."

"Whatever you say Satan," Wally retorts.

"Hades," I snap at him.

"Sticking up to your name of a Greek goddess by talking about a Greek god of the underworld. Original," Wally said sarcastically.

"And we go from pillow fights back to verbal fights. What? Couldn't handle being smacked in the ass with a pillow?" I retorted. Wally and I received weird looks from the rest of the _band_. "He had it coming. He woke me up using a blow horn," I explained.

"Sure," Robin replied unconvinced.

"We have a schedule change," Kaldur said as he walked into the room. "They want us to come to the arena at three to practice a little bit before."

"Ugh, we don't get a break in this business, do we?" I asked as M'gann set down a plate of breakfast in front of me.

"Apparently not," Robin replied.

"What's Jack want us to practice anyway? We already have all the songs and choreography down," asked Connor. Jack was our manager and a perfectionist.

"Who knows, it's Jack," Robin replied.

"Want it?" I asked Wally offering my half eaten plate.

"Sure," he said taking it.

"Ugh, I can't wait 'til this hellish mission is over," Connor grumbled.

"It's never really over. We might be recognized on the streets at times," I said getting up from the table. "I'm going to take a shower before we talk to Batman."

* * *

"What are the hunches for the culprit?" Leave it to Batman to get right down to business right when he walks through the door.

"Austin," Connor blurted out.

"The tec. boy? No, it's not him he has an alibi during the rapes and killings," Robin replied.

"It's Eric. I mean he keeps creeping on Artemis and M'gann," Wally said.

"You're all wrong," I said and all heads snapped back to look at me. "Austin does have alibis during the previous rapes and killings and Eric is obviously gay. Wally he isn't looking at M'gann and I, he's looking at you. It's right in front of us. Jack. He's been keeping us at practices longer and he's overprotective of not only the band, but M'gann and I especially. You guys don't see it because he is trying to distract us with all this work, but I see it. I see his angle that he's working at."

"Artemis does have very good points," Batman gruffly replied. "The rapist would want you to trust him before hand so that it will be easier to get their victim alone and kill them silently. Keep an eye on everyone especially Jack."

Everyone nodded and the Dark Knight was gone.

"How do you know that it's Jack?" Wally asked.

"I just know." _Because I grew up in a place where getting killed, raped, robbed, etc. was common,_ I wanted to say but I knew that I couldn't. "Know let's go catch this son of a bitch before he catches one of us."

Together we walked to the car drove by some guy named Alfred and drove to the arena.

* * *

**And the plot unfolds. Anyways, thank you all so much for the awesome reviews and critique, it's very much appreciated. Until next time, dancingandsingingintherain.**


	3. Realization: it's Gonna Hit You Hard

I was working with the choreographer to brush up on some of the performance moves. The microphone stand was lying on the ground as I quickly stepped on the base of the stand to flip it upwards then proceeded to toss it off to my right.

"Good. This time let's try it with the entire song and the rest of the band playing," Thomas, the choreographer, told me. With a nod the team was at each of their instruments and the microphone stand was reset in the middle of the stage with the microphone perfectly poised on it.

Connor gave us a quick count from his position behind the drums. When the music that I knew all too well started to play I fell into a slight comfort.

"_You've been wearin' the crown and tearin' me down, it's been a while since you treated me right. You strung me for far too long 'cause I never gave up a fight, until now._"

I could feel Jack's stare as I sang.

"_It's gonna hit you hard 'til you see stars, it's gonna put you through a world of hurt. Oh, I don't believe I gettin' even, but gettin' what you deserve. Oh my, oh my. Huh._"

Pulling the microphone off with one hand and letting the other drop the stand to the ground while mentally telling M'gann of Jack's over intense stare as precaution.

"_Mama always told that I should play nice, she didn't know you when she gave that advice. I'm through with you. You're one bridge I'd like to burn, bottle up the ashes, smash the urn. I'm through with you, la dee da._"

Discreetly I continued to keep tabs on Jack as I jumped and walked around the stage as if I really was performing.

**He's glaring at me**, Wally said through the mental link.

**Well, you are looking at him and keeping tabs. I think he's just telling you to lay off**, Robin replied. I ignored the two as I sang over them.

"_I don't want to be your 'just for fun', don't want to be under your thumb. All I want to be is done. Done._"

I turned around and faced the band and walked towards Wally and Robin playfully. I was trying to lighten their mood and get them to loosen up a little to look slightly more natural. I laid my arm on Wally's shoulder and immediately felt some of his tension melt away then unwrapped myself from him to sing the next verse.

"_You've crossed the line too many times, I'm gonna put you in your place._" I poked Wally in the chest as I sang that line. I walked over to Robin still singing.

"_You play with dynamite, don't be surprised when I blow up in your face. Oh my, oh my. Huh._" I made a little explosion gesture with my free hand making him give a small smile. Then I made my way to sweet M'gann on her own microphone.

"_Mama always told me that I should play nice, she didn't know you when she gave me that advice. I'm through with you. You're one bridge I'd like to burn, bottle up the ashes and smash the urn. I'm through with you._"

**Jack's moving to my two o'clock and he's still watching intently**, Connor's voice popped into my head.

**You have eyes on him?** I asked quickly.

**Yep**, Connor and M'gann answered just as quickly.

"_I don't want to be part of your fun, don't want to be under your thumb. All I want to be is done. (Done.) with your selfish ways. (Done.) with all the games you played. I'm through with you and every game you played._"

Jumping away from M'gann to the beat towards Wally, I locked eyes with Jack. He gave me a slimy, knowing smile. I almost froze in place from the familiarity of that smile. I almost missed my cue when the guitar solo ended.

"_Mama always told me that I should play nice, she didn't know you when she gave me that advice... Mama always told me that I should play nice, she didn't know you when she gave me that advice. I'm through with you. You're one bridge I'd like to burn, scatter the ashes, smash the urn. I'm through with you._"

Somehow I made back to the center of the stage where my stand was on the floor.

"_I don't want to be your 'just for fun', don't want to be under your thumb. All I want to be is done._" I stepped on the base of the stand making it snap upwards and then proceeded to merely toss it to the right of me in fake frustration.

"_All I want to be is done. Ugh. Hey, ooh. I want to be done. So, done._"

Clapping, Thomas said, "Good, good. Now take five."

I grabbed my water bottle once I was off stage and took a long swig of it. I was in the middle of fixing my pony tail when the rest of the team joined me. We were all in sweat pants and t-shirts being too lazy this morning to put on anything else. We all plopped down in a clump on some theater chairs that were near the stage.

**I have seen Jack before this mission. I swear to it**, I told them.

**And you waited until now to tell us this**, Wally replied deadpanned.

**I just realized it, Baywatch. When he gave me that slimy smile during the practice performance**, I retorted.

**Where do you recognize him from?** Robin asked.

**A friend of mine. He was with a friend of mine**, I answer.

**What a great friend you have**, Wally snorted.

**She's dead. She was a rape then kill victim**, I dwell. I can see Wally's face turn into sorrow.

**How long ago?** Robin pressed.

**Three and a half years ago**, I reply.

**I'm so sorry**, M'gann said sympathetically.

**Me too**, I agreed.

**What's her name?** Robin gently pried.

**May. May Adams**, I tell him.

"Alrighty, I'm letting you guys go until the show tonight," Jack said while approaching us.

Putting on a fake smile for all of us, I replied, "Okay, until then."

We all left as quickly as we could.


	4. I've Tried and Now I Will Take Him Down

"I did some research on the rape and murder of May Adams," Robin said as he set down a manila folder in front of me on the bar. "Something you want to tell us?" He asked me in a low voice.

"Nothing other than she was my friend and she was raped and then killed," I replied. "Why?" I narrowed my eyes at the boy suspiciously.

"May Adams was a resident of Gotham City," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your point?" I didn't have time for Robin's little mind games.

"You are a resident of Star City and you two were friends. How does that work out?" He pressed. Everyone was looking at me waiting for my answer.

"You're a resident of Gotham and Roy's a resident of Star. You're a resident of Gotham and Wally's a resident of Central. How does that work out?" I riposted.

"Point taken," Robin said showing that the subject was dropped, for now. "It also says in the report that there was no evidence to bring up any true suspects."

"Wait no evidence? What about DNA left on the victim?" Wally asked in bewilderment.

"DNA matched a John Doe. Investigators were at a dead end. After a while the trail ran cold and now May's case is a cold case," I replied. "When May died I broke into the GCPD's files and made a copy of her case file. I kept tabs on the case, but I too turned up with nothing. Later I accepted the fact that the perpetrator wouldn't be found even though I had this gut feeling that it was that guy, Jack, that was with her."

"Wait, if the DNA found matched a John Doe then how could Jack do the crime?" Wally asked.

"I've always wondered that. I thought it was a mix up in the lab or something," I told him.

"Mix ups in forensic labs just don't sporadically happen. Usually they double check the results if they think that it turned out wacky," Wally explained.

"I know which is why it didn't make any sense then and it doesn't make any sense now," I agreed with Wally. Wow, I must've been really out of whack that day because I was actually agreeing with Wally of all people. "But then I really got to thinking and I thought 'what if the DNA was planted and he didn't know that the DNA was from a dead guy?' Then that brought the questions of how did he get that DNA? and how did he not know that the DNA was from a dead person? I hacked the security cameras at the place where they do autopsies and looked at everyone that went in and out from the week prier to May's killing, but I didn't find anyone recognizable or walking out with anything suspicious."

"You did all of that when you were what, twelve?" Wally asked in surprise.

"I was almost thirteen," I agreed.

"And you aren't related to any one of the bats?" Wally asked again in surprise. I shook my head with a small amused smile on my face. "Wow, I'm actually impressed."

"I don't know if I should be offended by that statement or flattered," I told him. His small smile faded as he threatened me to take the compliment before he takes it back. My smile broadened as I replied, "Fine. I'll take your compliment if you insist."

"Ugh," Wally said as he threw his head back, "You are impossible."

"I try to be," I shrugged.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go do some more digging with the new in tell that Artemis gave. Don't kill each other while I'm gone," Robin strictly told Wally and I.

"No promises," Wally and I yelled after him. M'gann turned her attention to the food that she was cooking before Wally asked, "Hey Green Cheeks what time will lunch be ready?"

"Of course all you think about is your stomach. You have yet to amaze me, Wallace West," I mumbled before I got up from my chair and walked over to watch some quality static with Conner.

"Ten to fifteen minutes Wally," M'gann cheerily replied as I plopped down next to Conner.

"Wait, so what was Rob talking about when he asked if you had anything that you wanted to tell us?" Wally asked looking up at me with genuine curiosity.

"Nothing important," I waved him off.

"Uh huh," Wally said unconvinced.

"Whatever Wall-man. I'm going to go take a nap because someone so rudely woke me up with a blow horn early this morning," I glared at Wally as I stretched my arms up before standing to walk to my room.

"I wouldn't have had to do that if you just would have gotten up this morning," Wally called after me.

I closed my bedroom door and climbed across my bed to my nightstand. I opened the door and searched for the photo of May and I when we were only eight. That was only a year before her childhood was ripped away from her and the small sliver of mine was forever gone. We were sitting on the Gotham Park sign with thousand watt smiles. Salty hot tears came rolling down my face as I looked at the innocent two girls in the picture.

"I found him. I found him and I'm going to take him down hard just for you," I whispered my promise to my only true friend that I have ever had. "I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you. I miss you and I need you. I need my best friend." I clasped the half heart cliché BFF necklaces that May and I have had since we were five in my left hand and held the picture delicately in my right hand. As I quietly cried like how I taught myself years ago, I curled up into my ball of security and fell asleep that way.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, it's totally my fault. For everyone else that follow my other story One Shot Marks Only the Beginning I haven't forgotten about that story I just haven't gotten around to that story yet. Again I'm sorry for the long wait for an update.**


	5. I Want to Know: Can You Show Me

**Wally's POV (Yep mixing it up)**

I sat behind stage tuning my guitar. I would occasionally look up at someone walking by in a hurry or when someone spoke to me. Sometimes I would catch myself staring at Artemis across the room getting her hair and makeup done. When I came into wake her up from her nap, I found myself looking at her tears stained face, her hand clutching what looked like to be a locket, a photo loosely held in her other hand and her curled up in a ball. When I saw her in this state she looked so venerable and small, the complete opposite of what she portrayed herself to be. After looking at the scene for a moment, I gently aroused Artemis to a conscious state.

"Hey Wall-man," Artemis called bringing me back to reality. She was sitting in her makeup chair looking at me through the mirror.

"What?" I asked as one of the stylists worked on curling her long, thick mane.

"Lets match pitch," Artemis replied as she continued to stare at me through her reflection. I merely nodded at her request knowing that she will see me.

I readjusted the acoustic guitar on my knees before I strummed an A cord. Artemis listened for a second to fully register the pitch before she sang it back with a few of her own minor adjustments during "pitch bounce" as we liked to call it.

After a few more cords were "pitch bounced" Dick walked in with Connor right on his tail.

"What's up you guys? Where's Megs?" Artemis asked as a stylist took out her hair rollers. Her golden locks fell into big, bouncy curls as she directed her stare through the mirror to Dick and Connor.

"We were actually looking for Megan. Have any of you guys seen her?" Connor asked using M'gann's Earth name for secret I.D. purposes around all the people backstage.

"Last time I saw her she was in hair and make up with me," Artemis replied as someone was touching up her mascara. "I think that she went to try on a dress." With that tidbit of information Connor left in the direction of the wardrobe room.

"You guys done 'pitch bouncing'?" Dick asked. He had put brown colored contacts in to hide his identity from the rest of the team.

"I don't know. Artemis?" I hollered over to the archer.

"Yeah we're good," she said as she stood up and walked out to find Eric in wardrobe. When she and the stylists left the room Dick spoke again.

"What's bothering you? And before you go off saying that nothing is bothering you, I'll just call your bluff," he said looking at me. I leaned my guitar up against the wall next to the seat I was in before I told him.

"Earlier today before she started to tell us all about May, you asked Artemis if she wanted to tell us something that she was missing or forgetting," I reminded him. Dick only nodded in response, so I continued. "What were you urging her to tell us? What was she - is she not telling us?"

Dick looked away from me and heaved a sigh. "I was just making sure that she told us everything before we got started."

"You're a shitty liar, Dick. Now tell me the truth," I said with venom evident in my voice.

"Look Wally," Dick said looking at me apologetically. "It's not my place to tell, it's for Artemis to tell."

"Can't you just tell me why she doesn't want us to know?" I pry.

"I can't tell you that either. She needs to tell you that as well," Dick replied.

"Let me guess, you only found out because you are the protégé of the Worlds Greatest Detective," I sneered sarcastically. Dick just merely nodded his head. I shook my head in disbelief before I stood up and grabbed my guitar. "You are unbelievable," I muttered as I started to walked out of the room. "To think that all you do is poke you nose in others business and then go and tell others that they can't poke around even a little bit."

"She knows that I know and wants me as a friend to keep her secrets secret. If you can't respect her wishes how will she even begin to respect you?" Dick asked as came face to face with me. I just stared down at him knowing that he was right. "Thought so," Dick said as he left to find the rest of the team.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked the figure in the shadows with a sigh.

"Long enough, " Kaldur said as he emerged from his the shadows.

"I need to find Artemis and see if she's ready," I said trying to get out that room as fast as I could. I saw Aqualad nod out of the corner of my eye as I turned to leave.

* * *

**A/N: Drama is brewing. Sorry that this chapter was another one of those depressing ones again, but stay with me they will get more upbeat with some drama mixed in there because every story needs a little bit of drama! Thanks to all of you that liked, reviewed, followed and read my story!**


	6. Blow Away the Bad & Start New

**Artemis' POV**

"Hey there Rob," I greeted cheerily as M'gann, Eric and I went through my performance wardrobe. I turned around to face him when he grumbled a 'hey' in response.

"You know that you aren't allowed to sulk, right? That's Conner's job," I teased trying to get the bird back to his usual self. He wasn't buying it and I wouldn't blame him.

"I'm not sulking," he huffed.

"Not sulking my ass," I waved off his comment. "Now what has your panties in a wad?" I asked as I sat down next to him on the bench.

"Wally." Damn, something serious must have gone down when I left hair and makeup.

"Well, whatever Wall-ass did he probably wasn't consciously thinking about it. Now Jimmy Choo or Louboutin?" I asked holding up two different pumps.

"Louboutin," he replied. "Although, this time Wally was actually thinking, just he didn't see the other side of the situation. He's hardheaded like that."

"Yep, that's Wally for you. Sometimes it's his way or the no way," I told him as I dressed in my first performance dress behind a black curtain.

"Yeah, but Artemis this was different. He was pissed about something that I couldn't tell him," Robin spilled. I emerged from behind the curtain and walked over to him.

"Zip," I told him as I brushed my hair out of the way so he could zip up my dress. When he finished I let my hair back down as I asked, "So this was about something personal?"

"Not to me, but you. I didn't tell him a thing like you asked, but he was curious from when I pressed you to tell everyone this morning. By the way, I am sorry about that, but I just think that they should know about your past and current situation," Robin replied in a low, hushed tone that only I could hear with all of the backstage hustle and bustle.

"It's fine, but I'm just not ready to tell them yet," I said bent down as I shoved my feet in the black, glossy high heels with red on the bottom.

"Tell them before it's too late, though," he left no room for argument.

"I will. Promise," I told him as I crossed my heart. The kid has become the closest to me out of the rest of the team especially after he told me that he knew about, well, about my life. I knew that if at least one of the team members was accepting then the rest of the team would be as well with my secrets, but I couldn't put my finger on what was still holding me back from telling them.

"You promise what?" Wally asked as he entered the room guitar in hand.

"I promised Robin an 'I owe you'," I replied. "Hey do you think that we could play that new song that we've been working on first?"

"I guess we could, but I thought that that was for the next album or single or whatever," Wally replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. I nodded and then turned to M'gann.

"Hey Megs, could you tell Conner and Kal that we are starting off with the new song that we have been practicing?" I asked her as she approached us.

"Yeah, sure," she happily agreed before she mentally informed Conner and Kaldur of the song lineup change.

"You sure about opening up with this song?" Robin cautiously questioned.

"One hundred percent sure and hopefully they will understand the message of the song this time through," I whispered back to him as he nodded understandingly to my response.

"Gather around guys," M'gann announced and everyone including the employees backstage grouped together in a large circle in the middle of the room.

"Okay, so before we go on stage I just want to say that we will be performing our new song first today. Kind of like a teaser trailer for our next album that we are working on. Other than that we are just performing our usual set," I informed everyone and maybe snuck in a lie too.

"Alright, let's get pumped to perform for Gotham, my hometown! Hands in. Ready?" Robin directed as we all put our right hands in the middle of the circle. "1, 2, 3, Young Justice!" We all yelled while throwing our hands up in the air.

"Places everybody," Jeremy, our backstage manager announced. M'gann, Robin, Wally, Conner and Kaldur all ran on stage in the dark to their instruments as I was handed a microphone by Jessica, a backstage worker.

"We are on in three, two, one, go," Jeremy told me with a light shove on stage.

The lights on the stage were turned on and the crowd went wild. "Hello Gotham City," I said over the fans screaming. "How are you all tonight?" I asked receiving excited screams. "Well, that's good to hear. Now we have a little something special that we haven't done before. Are you ready for it?" Again pumped fans screamed. "Fantastic! Well, tonight we are going to open with a new song and we want you to Tweet, Instagram, Facebook, blog about what you think of it. Sound good to you?" It sounded like every fan was screaming their approval at us. "Alright here we go.

_Dry lightning cracks across the skies,_

_Those storm clouds gather in her eyes._

_Her daddy was a mean old mister,_

_Mama was an angel in the ground._

_The weather man called for a twister,_

_She prayed blow it down._" I closed my eyes and remembered the time that I lived in Oklahoma for two weeks for a Shadows mission and how badly I wanted a tornado to come and sweep everything away from me, so I could start fresh.

"_There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_

_To wash the sins out of that house._

_There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_

_To rip the nails out of the past._" I remembered the pain and anger that coursed through me during training, missions and just being at home.

"_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_

_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away._

_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday._

_Every tear-soaked memory blown away,_

_Blown away._" I could feel the want for revenge bubbling inside of me as I sang. As I remembered.

"_She heard those sirens screaming out_

_Her daddy laid there past out on the couch._

_She locked herself in the cellar_

_Listened to the screaming of the wing._

_Some people called it taking shelter_

_She called it sweet revenge._" I felt a small smile drift on my lips briefly.

"_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_

_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away._

_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday._

_Every tear-soaked memory blown away,_

_Blown away._

_There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_

_To wash the sins out of that house._

_There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_

_To rip the nails out of the past._

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_

_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away._

_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday._

_Every tear-soaked memory blown away,_

_Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away._"

By the end of the song my eyes were misty and my heart heavy, but I knew that with the team everything was going to be all right; through thick (Mostly Wally not shutting up. Not even when I'm watching NCIS or The Big Bang Theory!) and thin (Wally, duct tape, a chair and rope. Need I say more?).


	7. Stupid Girls We Were

**Artemis POV**

When we got back to the Cave after our performance I automatically went to take a shower. I let the warm water rush over me as I thought back to _that night_.

We were at one of our friends party. The music was loud and you could feel the beat throughout your body. Sweaty teens were dancing, drinking, or getting high. It wasn't our kind of scene, but we went for the hell of it. Older guys were hitting on us, but we just ignored them and continued to dance with the crowd. It was exciting and thrilling and rebellious and we loved it. Around two in the morning we left talking about our crazy time on the way home. We weren't drunk. We weren't high. And we still didn't notice that the guy walking us home was bad news. May, being as oblivious as myself at the time, invited him inside of the safe-house that the two of us were staying in that night. I went straight to bed, not thinking right from sleep deprivation and exhaustion, leaving the two alone. I woke up later that night to May screaming for me and the sounds of a struggle. I ran towards her terrified screams and then, BANG. I froze for half a second before I started to run faster to her room across the house. I saw her limp, bloody body and my vision was blurred with tears, but not the distinct sight of the open window in her room and the bastard that shot her.

The entire thing will be burned into my memory forever and the guilt will never fade. We were thirteen. We were too young to go to a party. We were too young to bring a boy home. We were too young to be alone for the night. She was too young to die.

The water from the shower camouflaged my salty tears as I remembered.

* * *

**Wally POV**

After I had showered and gotten dressed in my pajamas I headed to the kitchen. It was our after performance nights routine; go to the Cave, take a shower, get dressed and then head to the kitchen for a late night snack. I walked into the kitchen to find everyone in their pajamas, but Artemis.

"Where's Artemis?" I asked as I opened the fridge looking for anything good to eat.

"She just turned off her shower," Conner answered using his super-hearing to do so.

"I never understood why girls take such long showers," I mumbled as I took out the tub-a-ware with the left over pasta in it. I closed the fridge as Conner chuckled at my comment and then made my way to the microwave to heat the pasta up.

"What's so funny?" M'gann asked confused as to why I had a ghosted smile on my face and why Conner was actually laughing.

"Oh, nothing Megs. Nothing important," I said over the hum of the microwave. She gave me a look telling that she wasn't convinced. The microwave dinged and I turned to pull the door open to reveal stemming pleasantness.

"Hey guys," Artemis greeted us as I shut the microwave door with my elbow because the bowl of pasta was in my hands. Something was off in the that she greeted us, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Hey, took you long enough," I joked knowing that I would get my ass kicked, but what the hell.

"Sorry, I didn't notice," she replied quietly as she sat at the bar. I nearly dropped my bowl at her response. Since when did Artemis, the she-devil, ever say she was sorry. I set my bowl on the counter before I actually did drop it and asked her, "What's wrong?" Her face turned into a scowl and she tilted her head to glare at me.

"Nothing is wrong," she responded in a harsh and cold tone that said 'don't mess with me'. I threw my hands up in surrender as I turned my attention to my bowl of pasta and finding the silverware drawer so I could get a fork.

"So, anything new on the case?" I asked as I triumphantly grabbed a fork from the drawer and started to eat my pasta. Artemis slightly, yet visibly tensed at the mention of the case.

"Nothing that I know of," Robin answered with a shrug. Kaldur, M'gann and Conner all shook their heads agreeing with the bird boy.

"Jack is for sure that bastard that we should be taking down," Artemis said with an evil and passionate look in her eyes.

"How do you know that Jack is our guy?" Conner questioned Artemis's out burst.

"Gut feeling. And all evidence so far points to him as a suspect," Artemis said with confidence.

"All that we have is that he worked for or knew each of the rape and murder victims and your gut instinct," Kaldur challenged.

"He killed May. I know that for a fact. He made her be quiet while he raped her making her fear that he was going to kill her and then she tried to fight him when he pulled the gun on her. The gun went off once and it was a clean shot to the chest. She died instantly. Tell me that that's not enough for you," Artemis shot right back.

"Not unless you saw Jack shoot May," Dick responded in detective mode.

"He was the only other person in the safe-house at the time," Artemis was furious now and I didn't blame her.

"Before goes south, how about we find a way to take a DNA sample of Jack's and compare it to the DNA left on the victims including May? That way we know for sure that it wasn't him," I suggest.

"DNA left on the victims matched a John Doe, remember?" Artemis replied deadpanned.

"Right, right. And you looked at security cameras to see if he went into any places that did autopsies. What if the killer/rapier had an accomplice? What if instead of just going after random girls, they were going after specific targets?" I asked.

"All the rest of the victims happened in the past six months and were famous or on the rise to fame, so why would they go after someone like May?" Artemis retorted.

"Maybe she was just a test subject to see if their plan worked," Dick chimed in.

"But why wait so long in-between a test and the actual thing?" M'gann chirped up.

"Probably to wait for May's case to settle down and so they could work to becoming close to young female stars and/or rising stars. Once they were close to a few teen girl stars the decided to strike again and again and again," Dick, or more appropriately Robin when the inner detective comes out, answered.

"Sounds like a good hypothesis," Kaldur commented.

"It should have been me," I heard Artemis whisper.

"Let's get to bed, so we can go over this in more detail with Batman," Kaldur suggested. Everyone shuffled off to bed, but Artemis stayed and I ate quietly observing her. I set my empty bowl in the sink and walked over to her. I laid a hand on her shoulder snapping her out of her in thought state.

"I'm sorry," I told her as she looked up at me with sad eyes. She laid one of her hands over mine before she whispered, "Me too." There was a moment before she dropped her hand from mine. Taking that as my cue to leave, I dropped my hand as well and left her slumped in her barstool.


End file.
